Archive for January, 2009

The unicorn seems to have been held up in shipping; but the Skittles are being delivered. For some reason, though, the only ones coming through are the brown ones. And they smell kind of funny, but it’s probably ungrateful of me to criticize. I’m sure the rest will start shipping any day, now.

This image has showed up on the internet from time to time over the years. It’s usually sent as a forwarded email with the subject line “Sunset at the North Pole,” and a body which reads

Sunset at the north pole…

TOO BEAUTIFUL NOT TO SHARE

A scene you will probably never get to see.
This is the sunset at the North Pole with the moon at its closest point.
You also see the sun below the moon.
An amazing photo and not one easily duplicated.
You may want to pass it on to others.
The Chinese have a saying:
‘When someone shares with you something of value,
you have an obligation to share it with others.’

The last time it was sent to me was in March of 2007; apparently it’s making the rounds again, because it was forwarded to me by two different people today.

It’s a cool image, but it’s not a photograph. I say that not as a photographer, but as someone who paid attention in High School science classes. From Wikipedia:

The angular diameter of the Sun is about the same as that of the Moon…

What that means is that when you look at the sun and the moon, they appear to be approximately the same size when viewed from Earth. The disparity in sizes in this image is a scientific impossibility.

That doesn’t mean that it’s not a pretty nice piece of art. It’s just not a photograph. That also doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate getting it from people who want to send me something nice. It’s just that I’m a geek, and I can’t let a misrepresentation like this slide. Thanx for sending it to me, guys. I really do like it. And I appreciate the thought behind it.

And if the creator of this art work is reading this: please let me know who you are, so I can give you proper credit. I don’t like publishing without attribution.

Much later: Oh, and there’s no open water at the North Pole, either. Except in the fevered imaginations of the Glowball Warmening cultists.

I didn’t get out for a proper shoot this year, because I was geared up for snow removal (from a storm that didn’t materialize). So I cheated. I just stepped outside my door and took some quick snapshots of the high school across the street in silhouette, and then of the snow-bound football field. The brief exposure to the 5-degree temperature numbed my fingers and made ’em hurt like heck when they started to thaw.

Deering High School at dawn on the first day of 2009

Deering High School football field, imprisoned behind a chain-link fence on the first day of 2009

Deering High, a closer look

The other day, I found a link to one of those sites that “rate” your blog for you. This one came out as a “G,” I think, with a note that one post had used the word “shoot” once. I dunno how to talk about photography without using the word “shoot,” nor do I want to. Strange that a normal activity, like shooting (whether with a camera or weapon), could be the cause of concern to some. More PC intrusion in our lives.

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